Saturday, September 9, 2017

So I decided to make a change to my plans. I'd previously planned to release The Cosmic Toybox, which was planned as a huge magic-item book covering four themes: 1. Lifespawn magic items.
2. Battlechanger and other 80s toon inspired items.
3. Furry/Anthro magic items.

I finally decided to just break the book into three smaller, but still ambitious sourcebooks. This way, I up my release count for 2017 and have the benefit of three 'opening weekends' for three books instead of just one. The first book is entitled God Machines: Magic Items of the Lifechain, and focuses on Lifespawn magic items and artifacts for the Otherverse America campaign setting. I just uploaded this puppy to www.rpgnow.com and it's on sale for $4.99 at 48 pages of content.
I had a ton of fun writing it. Early on in the design process, I decided to pile in tons of Jack Kirby homages to expand the 'Lifechain' concept I've had since I started working on Otherverse America. A whole lot of the armors and weapons are lifted directly from Kirby: virtually any magic armor with the God- prefix was worn by a Kirby character.

What the fuck, let's preview the God- armors here! The attached image should give you a hint of which Eternals character was wearing what. Thena (in gold) was wearing the armor that inspired the Godraiment, while Ikarus (in the blond dude in blue) is wearing what would become the Godweave armor. Not pictured are the inspirations for God Chain (Marvel's Cinematic Thor), and God Scale (DC's Big Barda).

Godchain

Aura
moderate conjuration CL 10th

Slot armor Price 50,000 gp (DC 31) Weight 25 lbs

The interlocked rings of this beautifully wrought chain-mail shirt
gleam like gold. A leather tabard is worn on the breast, over the rings,
reinforced by angular golden plating. If worn by a Lifespawn, intricate,
gear-like carvings appear on the golden plates, and a long and regal cloak of
vibrant red, gold or blue cloth hangs from the Godchain’s shoulder

Requirements Craft Magic Arms and Armor, creator must have the
Lifespawn subtype, breath of life,
eagle’s splendor, summon monster I

Cost 25,000
gp (DC 29)

Godraiment

Aura
moderate transmutation CL 10th

Slot armor
and head Price 15,600 gp (DC 27) Weight 18 lbs

Godraiment is gleaming ceremonial armor reserved for Lifespawn heroes
and nobility, a gleaming golden bodysheath that partially merges with the
wearer’s flesh. The armor resembles a thin sheath of liquid gold a few
millimeters thick, with bulkier armor plating on the pauldrons, belt and collar.
The armor’s crown erupts in a series of abstract, jagged spires rising from the
wearer’s forehead like stylized antlers.

Godraiment is a set of +2
benevolent action wear. When the Godraiment is worn by a Lifespawn, it also
gains the expeditious property. In addition, a creature with the
Lifespawn subtype may add their Lifecount as a competence bonus on Spellcraft
checks made in combat, as well as Knowledge (the planes) and Knowledge
(religion) checks made while the armor is worn.

Godscale

Aura
faint transmutation CL 8th

Slot armor Price 15,500 gp (DC 27) Weight 30 lbs

Godscale is masterfully crafted scaled armor forged from ultra-dense
alloys which gleam mostly cerulean. Individual scale in the array are alloyed
with precious metals to turn them a brilliant canary yellow, jet black or deep
crimson. These brightly colored scales are worked throughout the array of blue
scales, forming mazelike and complex patterns. When worn by a true Lifespawn
warrior, the armor glows an electric blue and hums like an overstressed
electrical transformer.

Godweave is a set of +2 action
wear of Spell Resistance 17. When the Godweave is worn by a Lifespawn, the
Godweave gains the invulnerability property. In addition, a creature with the
Lifespawn subtype may add their Lifecount as a competence bonus on Knowledge
(history), Spellcraft and Use Magic Device checks while the Godweave is worn.

Saturday, September 2, 2017

This year’s output has been primarily some bestiaries and
magic item sourcebooks. You’ve already seen a great, and pretty well-received
bestiary for the Psi-Watch Campaign setting,
as well as updates to my popular Fursona
character builder and some Heavy Future
content.

Over the last couple of months I’ve been working on a few
different collection of magic items. These books are great, because I can work
on them a few items or spells at a time, feeling like I’m making solid progress
even if I only produce 5-10 new elements per day, after coming home from work.
They’re also solid sellers, and any artwork I commission depicting new spells
or items can usually be repurposed for later bestiaries or worldbooks.

My next book will be a second volume of The Occult-Tech
Armory series entitled “The Cosmic
Toybox”.It’s going to be a weighty, mid-length sourcebook. Probably on the
order of 200+ pages depending on layout choices I make. The book’s been very
fun, and will provide a lot of support for three customizable races found
throughout the Otherverse Games multiverse: Battlechangers, Anthros and
Lifespawn. Battlechangers were first described in Battlechangers: Ironworks,
and are basically Pathfinder RPG compatible versions of Transformers; Anthros are the furry, animalistic heroes you can
build with Fursona Unleashed. And
Lifespawn are powerful, cosmic demigods whose origins date back to the dawn on
the universe, described pretty thoroughly in Powers of the Lifechain.

Cosmic Toybox is going to be a huge homage to the cartoons
of the 1980s I grew up watching – it includes spells and magic items inspired
by cartoons like He-Man and the Masters
of the Universe, lots of elements drawn from 30+ years of Transformers lore, gear for furry heroes
inspired by Thundercats, and so on. I
also decided since most of these items have a science-fantasy, Jack Kirby feel
to them, I’d go ahead and include a bunch of Lifespawn-specific new content and
make Cosmic Toybox the definitive ‘weird space opera’ gear book. I’m also
including a bunch of generic fantasy spells and items I’ve published in various
places over the last eight years, so they’re all consolidated in one easy to
reference PDF.

Once Cosmic Toybox is out, I’ll pour in the profits from
that to purchase the last art I’ll need for the second volume of Enchantments
of Black Tokyo, as well as a HUGE revised world book for Black Tokyo that I
expect to finally release in early 2018. I’ll preview Enchantments of BT II a
little later.

After that, I’m working on a collected spell and magic item
book for Otherverse America, similar to Enchantments
of Black Tokyo andHeavy Grimorie.
I’m also simultaneously working on a Lifer Nation’s players guide, similar to Culture of Choice, just from the exact
opposite outlook. I’ve got about 75-80 pages of solid content, but it just
doesn’t feel….there…. yet.

That book, and the Lifer-related magic content for
Enchantments of OA, I have to say are proving more difficult to write. First
off, getting myself into the headspace to detail a culture of anti-choice
Christian terrorists is a hard, especially these days. I want these characters
to be interesting and capable opponents or intriguing anti-heroes, but I don’t
in any way want to glorify or give credence to the real world beliefs driving
them. Plus, from an authorial point of view, Lifer spells and magic items are really fucking nasty. Their spells feel
cruel, punitive and judgmental, which makes sense considering the culture
that’s producing them, but man, it’s a chore to write up.

Some Preview
Content

I haven’t posted in a little while, so let’s preview some of
the items and art from the upcoming Cosmic
Toybox. I’m going to focus on some of the most obvious homage items in the
book, as well as spotlight some of the artwork I’m including.

One of my favorite magic item ‘sets’ in the upcoming
sourcebook are the Gear Mutt’s Cloak and Gear Mutt’s Mask combo. They’re a
homage to Dyna-Mutt from old Hanna-Barbarra cartoons. I love the artwork Amanda
turned in of a lupine Anthro superhero wearing this gear. It’s simultaneously
badass and hilarious, especially considering the item’s origins, and is in the
running to be the book’s cover image.

The ‘similar item’ listing for Gear Mutt’s Cloak is a homage
to Gizmo Duck from Ducktales, which
is just something I put in for shits and giggles.

Cloak,
Gear Mutt’s

Aura strong transmutation CL 13th

Slot shoulders
Price 96,000 gp (DC 33) Weight 2 lbs

Woven from metallic fibers, this
iridescent green cloak has a high collar and a striking silver-grey gear symbol
on the back. Designed purely for canine Anthro wearers, this cloak augments
both their canine aspects and transforms the wearer into a highly adaptable
machine organism.

While wearing the Gear Mutt’s Cloak,
an Anthro gains Darkvison 60 ft (or improves existing Darkvision by +30 ft) and
the scent special quality, as well as
the Working Scent feat.

Blaster and Tool Morph

While wearing the Gear Mutt’s Cloak,
the wearer can morph an assortment of tools or weapons from their body,
deploying them from concealed ports anywhere on their body. As a standard
action, the wearer can deploy any handheld tool or masterwork quality skill kit
of their choice, which retracts back into their body when no longer needed.
Additionally, the wearer can deploy an assortment of laser blasters which
function as a +1 spacer’s blaster of
infinite ammunition, from concealed ports on their body. These weapons
cannot be disarmed, and if sundered, the wearer can simply manifest an
additional blaster on their turn.

Battlechanger Transformation

Once per day, the wearer can call
upon Gear Mutt’s Cloak to transform themselves into a bio-mechanical lifeform.
For up to one hour, the wearer gains a Battlechanger like-form. The wearer is
treated as a Battlechanger of their size, and is considered to have 3 points of
Fuelon in their Fuelon Reserve. While in this state, the wearer gains the
Massive Strength and No Breath qualities, as well as the sensory capabilities
of an average Battlechanger. The wearer gains a single alt-mode appropriate to
their size. Each time the cloak is donned, the wearer can design a new alt-mode
for themselves.

Special: Only
Anthro characters can benefit from this magic item.

Similar
Items

Gear Duck’s Armor
is a gleaming, polished silver-white set of space armor, with a transparent
golden visor designed to accommodate even the most majestic beak and a glowing
red symbol that looks like a stylized mallard’s head in profile on the
breastplate. Gear Duck’s Armor functions as a +2 advanced space suit of
moderate fortification, and occupies the armor rather than cloak slot.

The Gear Duck’s Armor provides the
wearer with a Flight speed equal to twice their base land speed (average), as
well as a Swim speed equal to their land speed, instead of the sensory benefits
provided by Gear Mutt’s Cloak.

The Gear Duck’s Armor has a caster
level of 13th and requires limited
wish or miracle to be used in the
construction process. Gear Duck’s Armor has a purchase price of 125,000 gp (DC
34). The crafter must either be an Avian Anthro or a Battlechanger with a
similar primitive alt-mode.

Construction

Requirements
Craft Wondrous Items, call
weapon, metamorphic adaptation, infinite
ammunition, superior anthro adaptation creator must either be a canine or
lupine Anthro or a Battlechanger primitive with a similar alt-mode

Cost 48,000
gp (DC 31)

Mask,
Gear Mutt’s

Aura faint transmutation CL 8th

Slot face
Price 4,500 gp (DC 23) Weight negligible

Woven from metallic fibers the same
iridescent shade of green as Gear Mutt’s
Cloak, this superheroic cowl covers the hair, eyes and face down to the
nose.

While wearing Gear Mutt’s Mask, the
integral weapons provided by Gear Mutt’s Cloak function as +2 smuggler’s blasters of
infinite ammunition, instead of +1
spacer’s blasters of infinite ammunition. As a move-equivalent action, the
wearer can choose to have these weapons inflict either Electrical or Force
damage rather than the default Fire damage. The damage type chosen remains
active until the wearer chooses to change energy type again.

Special:Gear Mutt’s
Mask can only be worn by an Anthro and has no effect if worn without Gear
Mutt’s Cloak.

Construction

Requirements
Craft Wondrous Items, star
ranging

Cost 2,250
gp (DC 21)

I asked Vic Shane to illustrate the Holo-Mask magic item.
These masks are a homage to the titular helmets from the 1980s cartoon MASK which is currently undergoing a
renaissance of sorts thanks to IDW Comics.

Holo-Masks are human occult-tech
built using reverse-engineered Technysian technology. Holo-Masks are incredibly
bulky life support helmets that fully conceal the wearer’s features, race and
gender. The masks have a decorative flair, intensely colorful cladding and
almost totemistic designs built using life-support components and equipment
modules.

A variety of Holo-Masks exist, each
designated by a unique color-scheme and design and codename.All Holo-Masks, regardless of function, can
use any of the following spells at will:

·Flare

·Invisibility

·Minor Image

·Machine Invisibility

In addition, the Holo-Mask can
replace the helmet of any armor with the Space Suit property without
compromising that property. Each Holo-Mask provides the wearer with a +5
competence bonus on either Drive or Fly checks, determined by the creator at
the time of the object’s creation.

Finally, each Holo-Mask has a
specific function built into it, which is always based around a third level
abjuration, evocation or transmutation effect. This spell is added to the
Holo-Mask’s construction requirements and is usable 3x/day. Some examples are
described below.

The Anthro-Soul items in the book were inspired by the old
cartoon Visionaries, and were built
around using the Anthro Adaptation spells found in Fursona Unleashed in some creative ways. The art for these items is
also by Amanda Webb.

Anthro-Soul
Plate

Aura moderate transmutation CL 13th

Slot armor
Price 99,900 gp (DC 33) Weight 50-60 lbs

This especially ornate and heavily
girded set of plate-mail is richly enameled in a bright color. Instead of a
tabard, the breast plate of the armor has been accented with a polished,
mirror-like plate of indestructible and enchanted glass, riveted to the steel.
Within this enchanted mirror, a ghostly animal- usually a noble and impressive
beast such as a lion, warhorse, eagle or dragon – paces as if caged and roars silently.
The armor’s fully enclosed great helm resembles the illusory animal, as do
other details carved into the good steel.

Anthro-Soul Plate is a set of +2 jousting full plate of light
fortification. As a full round action, the wearer can touch their mirrored
breast plate, and saying a short prayer to their animal spirit, activate superior anthro adaptation. This ability
is useable at will, but has a longer casting time than the norm. Each armor
always bestows the same specific gift (s), chosen by the creator at the time of
creation and symbolized by the animal spirit within the mirror.

Some Example Gifts and Totems

Note
that these are not the only way to ‘build’ the specified totems. This armor is
really limited only by the creator’s imagination.

·Boar Rushing
Charge, Tusks

·Cheetah Sprinter,
Sudden Strike

·Horse Natural
Weapons (hooves), Powerful Kick

·Lion Powerful
Build, Hopebringer

·Eagle Winged
Flight

Construction

Requirements
Craft Magic Arms and Armor, limited wish, superior anthro adapation, creator must be an Anthro,
creator must have 5 ranks in Ride

Cost 49,950
gp (DC 31)

Anthro-Soul
Standard

Aura moderate transmutation CL 10th

Slot none
Price 50,000 gp (DC 31) Weight 10-15 lbs

This heavy steel standard pole
shares the same design and style as the Anthro-Soul
Plate. Instead of a conventional banner, a huge steel frame supports an
oval or rectangular enchanted mirror. This mirror, made of indestructible
magical glass at least 2-3 ft in diameter is ‘inhabited’ by an illusory animal
that paces, flies or swims within the glass and roars silently. The carvings
running the length of the steel shaft resemble this animal in some way.

Up to twice per day, the wielder of
the Anthro-Soul Standard can cast mass
anthro adaptation from the standard. The benefit provided by this spell is
chosen by the creator when the Standard is constructed, and once chosen cannot
be changed. The benefit provided by the spell is always symbolic of the
illusory animal within the mirror.

Special

If the Anthro-Soul Standard is
wielded by a character also wearing Anthro-Soul Plate, the effect produced by
the Standard functions as anthro
perfection instead. As normal, the Gift (s) provided by the spell are
static and unchanging, though this synergistic effect allows more or greater
gifts than usual.

Vic Shane is working on one of the artifacts in the game.
This legendary Battlechanger armor was inspired visually by artist Floro Dery’s
unused original design for Ultra Magnus, and the lore behind the armor was
inspired by the IDW incarnation of that same character. Consider this a bit of
a spoiler if you haven’t read the “Remain in Light” storyline of IDW’s More than Meets the Eye yet.

Magnus Aegis

UniqueMinor Artifact

Aura CL 24th

Slot armor
Weight 28 lbs

The Magnus Aegis is an ancient Technysian artifact, worn by
the greatest heroes of the Freegear Rebellion. The gleaming golden armor was
worn during the first battle of the Rebellion, and outlived the legendary
robotic warlord it was commissioned for. When the armor is not bestowed upon a
worthy Freegear (and millennia can pass before a new wearer proves his or her
worth), the armor is kept in a vast temple-armory on one of Technys’ gleaming
moons.

The Magnus Aegis takes the form of a massive metallic
exo-frame, forged from a beautifully burnished golden alloy. When worn the
armor seems to merge with the wearer’s metallic body, revealing intricate
internal components cast from burnished bronze and platinum. The Magnus Aegis
includes a golden breastplate inset with a reinforced translucent polymer
window revealing a powerful plasma-energy chamber that powers the armor. A
great-helm with blunt, angular wings and pauldrons fitted with high, towering
weapons modules farther adds to the wearer’s grandeur.

The Magnus Aegis is a +5
trans-scaling, wilding grade-III
powered armor of determination and heavy fortification. The Magnus Aegis
provides the wearer with Immunity to Fire and Electricity. The Magnus Aegis’ wilding property applies whenever a
Battlechanger wearer assumes any alt-mode, allowing the armor to maintain its
full function regardless of their current form. Only a creature with the
Battlechanger subtype can don the Magnus Aegis.

While wearing the Magnus Aegis, the Battlechanger is
considered one size category larger than normal in all modes, and they lose the
Freeze special quality in alt-mode (if present).

Weapons

The missile-towers built into the armor’s pauldrons function
as a +3 nimble-shot, seeking LAW rocket
launcher of infinite ammunition.

Destruction

If the wearer is slain while wearing the Magnus Aegis, the
armor teleports away at Initiative Count 0 of the round the wearer perishes,
leaving the wearer’s body behind. This effect functions identically to interplanetaryteleportation, and returns the armor to its temple-armory. If the
teleportation effect is prevented or blocked, the Magnus Aegis can be captured
or destroyed normally.

About Me

Freelance Game Designer Since 2005:
Founder of Otherverse Games,
Author of Otherverse America, Psi-Watch, Galaxy Command, Black Tokyo, Pirates of the Bronze Sky (LPJ Designs), Against the Darkness (Table Top Adventures) and other innovative and unusual role playing games.